Destiny
Irene Adler A.K.A. Destiny was a member of the original Brotherhood of Mutants under Mystique's leadership before Magneto took over and remained in it for years as one of the team's most valuable assets for her astonishing ability to see into the future by years, months, days and down to seconds and change her actions as they changed the future; More astonishing still Destiny is the only true friend Mystique has ever had and perhaps the only friend she has never betrayed. History Irene Adler was born in Salzburg, Austria in the late 19th century, her mutant powers came to her in her adolescent years. She would eventually meet another mutant called Raven Darkholme with the power to shape-shift down to the genetic level and the two women became fast friends. Irene's visions changed as the most likely possible future changed but one of the most prominent visions in her mind was that of a dystopian future that never seemed to fade, though the specific nature of it has changed. Irene and Raven became convinced that mutants had to fight back against homo-sapiens before the world became a hell for their kind. Biography Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Raven took up the name Mystique and Irene the alias Destiny and began acts of what seemed liked random terrorism but were in-fact usually precise strikes against people and acts that would create a dystopian future far down the line. When Mystique took in the mutant Rogue as an adopted daughter Destiny was usually the one who cared for her while Mystique was in the field before Rogue began fighting alongside her. Destiny saw Rogue would eventually leave the Brotherhood and fight against them, something Mystique tried on many instances to prevent. Mystique has not always based her schemes on Destiny's advise but is willing to change them at a moment's notice if Irene has a vision that conflicts with her latest plans. Destiny was rarely in the field compared to other members of the Brotherhood like Rogue, Pyro, Blob and Avalanche but she remained a constant counsel for Mystique behind the scenes of nearly every encounter the X-Men had with the Brotherhood of Mutants. Destiny and Mystique Destiny has been ignored or shut out by her fellow super villains on many occasions when her visions predict doom for a certain course of action, even though all her visions have, or would have come true under the actions being taken at the time. There were times when Mystique openly left her team-mates, Destiny included, to be arrested in order to save herself. While the other Brotherhood members usually felt betrayed Destiny accepted being figuratively fed to the wolves as she always knew Mystique intended to break them out. Destiny has implied that often she intentionally allows herself to be captured with the rest of her team just so she could coordinate break-outs from the inside, whenever Mystique blew a hole in a wall or arrived with an escape helicopter, Destiny and the other Brotherhood members were always out of the way of the explosion but still waiting in a convenient pick-up point. Magneto has fallen victim to failure more than once for dismissing Destiny's warnings. Mystique's sudden changes of heart and non-stop backstabbing have frequently been in response to one of her allies taking an action she knew would lead to ruin thanks to Destiny. Mystique eventually left Magneto's service, for good, and formed the Freedom Force, a team of mutants working for the government to mend the mutant hysteria left on the world, when she did Destiny was the first mutant to join her. Death In The Uncanny X-Men issue 255 Destiny died at the hands of Shadow King, who was possessing the mutant Legion at the time. Destiny saw her death but choose not to avoid it in order to help the mutant Forge escape dying at Legion's hands. Though Destiny was initially saved from Legion she died shortly after being taken to a medical facility. Some time later the X-Men would find Destiny's journals covering a variety of topics, among them the Age of Apocalypse. Destiny's writings would become central in countering one of Apocalypse's most ambitious strikes to take-over the world. Skills and Abilities Destiny has the power to see into the future anywhere from years to seconds and alters her actions with certainty as a specific fut ure becomes clearer. Destiny sees many different futures at once but is able to sort them out by which one is the clearest in her mind. Destiny is blind but because of her ability to see the outcome of second by second act ion ahead of time her aim is deadly. Destiny uses a cross-bow as her favored weapon since she aims where and when she knows she will hit. Destiny has minor telepathic abilities, that while not as strong as most other psychics has allowed her to send Mystique brief visions over vast distances. Destiny mostly used her telepathy to undertake a self-taught trick that hid herself from the second-sight and influences of other psychics, this has lead to Shadow King being unable to find her mind to possess it and renders her mind as invisible to Professor X even while standing right in front of him. Destiny lived to be well over one-hundred years old and Mystique has speculated that her longevity may have been part of the nature of her mutation rather than just good health. Regardless of whether her age is a mutant power or just the result of a woman who took care of herself Destiny has never become decrepit or senile even after living more than a century. Since Destiny was killed it is unclear how long she might have lived. Alternate Media ''X-Men Evolution'' Destiny appears in the cartoon show X-Men Evolution as Rogue's guardian/mother. In the show Destiny is only ever addressed as "Irene Adler" never as "Destiny" and she is never seen in costume. Destiny is also never specifically called Rogue's mother but she clearly serves this role. While the show makes no specific mention of Irene and Mystique's relationship the two are shown to be very close and background photos at Irene's house show a young Rogue with Irene and another woman, presumably Mystique. X-Men Evolution's interpretation of Irene shows her to be a middle-aged woman, however Rogue and most other X-Men are still in their teenage years for the show's run. Irene is never shown taking up arms against the X-Men although her powers are clearly demonstrated. The show plays up Destiny as an adviser over that of an active combatant. In the show Mystique is using Destiny's visions for the end game of reviving the world's most powerful Mutant, En Sabah Nur using Rogue's powers as a collection method to redistribute power into his body. Irene also tries to help Wanda, the Scarlet Witch get a handle on her powers and introduces her and Rogue to her old friend Agatha Harkness, a psychic/witch to train Wanda and enlighten Rogue. ''X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse'' Destiny is encountered in the game X-Men Legend II: Rise of Apocalypse. The game plays mostly off the Age of Apocalypse saga from the comics where Apocalypse has begun his end game preparation for world conquest. Apocalypse first deals with the threat of Genosha, Magneto's refuge for mutants. Prior to Apocalypse's arrival, Destiny tries to warn Magneto of the danger and that he needs to evacuate; Magneto, though confident enough of Destiny's powers to take the warning seriously, is more confident in his own abilities to defend his home and refuses to evacuate, instead focusing on military countermeasures to the impending invasion. Magneto lost the conflict and needed to retreat with Sabretooth, Mystique, Juggernaut, Toad and Scarlet Witch turning, to the X-Men to help fight Apocalypse. Destiny had fled long before Apocalypse arrived just as she had advised Magneto to do. She is encountered in the game's second chapter in the Savage Land as part of a brief intro mission. Recovering her is essential, as Mystique refuses to go on without her and she has important insights for the X-Men about the future of their conflict with Apocalypse. *There is a mod for the game that allows Destiny to become a playable character. Trivia *Destiny and Mystique were created by writer Chris Claremont and he originally envisioned the two as a lesbian couple, however Marvel put down the idea. Many fans were able to pick up on the subtle undertones Claremont put into the relationship between Mystique and Destiny and though it has never been shown outright in-universe Claremont has confirmed that the two were lovers. *Nightcrawler was originally set to be the son of Mystique and Destiny with Mystique as the father since while in male form she is functionally male. *After Destiny was killed Mystique became emotionally destroyed and went on a rampage of revenge. *"Irene Adler" is a name Destiny shares with a character from the Sherlock Holmes novels, credited as the only woman who could out-think Holmes. 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